WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:04.240 Eve's Diary by Mark Twain, translated from the original part 2 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:08.679 one Saturday, I am almost a whole day old now. 3 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:12.160 I arrived yesterday. That is as it seems to me, 4 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:15.640 and it must be so, for if there was a 5 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:18.120 day before yesterday, I was not there when it happened, 6 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:21.239 or I should remember it. It could be, of course, 7 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:23.879 that it did happen and that I was not noticing 8 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:27.320 very well. I will be very watchful now, and if 9 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:30.359 any day before yesterday's happen, I will make a note 10 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:33.039 of it. It will be best to start right and 11 00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:36.399 not let the record get confused. For some instinct tells 12 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:38.880 me that these details are going to be important to 13 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:42.359 the historian some day. For I feel like an experiment. 14 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:46.439 I feel exactly like an experiment. It would be impossible 15 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:48.799 for a person to feel more like an experiment than 16 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:52.280 I do, And so I am coming to feel convinced 17 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:56.200 that that is what I am. An experiment, just an experiment, 18 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:59.560 and nothing more than if I am an experiment. Am 19 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:00.320 I the whole of it? 20 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:01.079 No? 21 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:03.880 I think not. I think the rest of it is 22 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:06.359 part of it. I am the main part of it, 23 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:08.439 but I think the rest of it has its share 24 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:11.640 in the matter. Is my position assured, or do I 25 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.200 have to watch it and take care of it the latter. 26 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:18.640 Perhaps some instinct tells me that the eternal vigilance is 27 00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:21.760 the price of supremacy. That is a good phrase, I think, 28 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:25.319 for one so young. Everything looks better to day than 29 00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:28.159 it did yesterday. In the rush of finishing up yesterday, 30 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:31.319 the mountains were left in a ragged condition, and some 31 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:34.400 of the plains were so cluttered with rubbish and remnants 32 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:37.920 that the aspects were quite distressing. Noble and beautiful works 33 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:40.840 of art should not be subjected to haste, and this 34 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:44.680 majestic new World is indeed a most noble and beautiful work, 35 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:49.719 and certainly marvelously near to being perfect, notwithstanding the shortness 36 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:52.719 of the time. There are too many stars in some 37 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:55.480 places and not enough in others, but that can be 38 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:59.280 remedied presently, no doubt, the moon got loose last night 39 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:01.879 and slid down and fell out of the scheme, a 40 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:04.719 very great loss. It breaks my heart to think of it. 41 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:08.680 There isn't another thing among the ornaments and decoration that 42 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:12.560 is comparable to it. For beauty and finish. It should 43 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:15.120 have been fastened better. If we can only get it 44 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:18.479 back again, but of course there is no telling where 45 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:21.919 it went to. And besides, whoever gets it will hide it. 46 00:02:22.599 --> 00:02:25.560 I know it because I would do it myself. I 47 00:02:25.639 --> 00:02:28.199 believe I can be honest in all other matters. But 48 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:31.439 I already begin to realize that the core and center 49 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:34.919 of my nature is love of the beautiful, a passion 50 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:37.400 for the beautiful, and that it would not be safe 51 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:39.560 to trust me with a moon that belonged to another 52 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:42.800 person and that person didn't know I had it. I 53 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:44.439 could give up a moon that I found in the 54 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:47.719 daytime because I should be afraid some one was looking. 55 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:50.240 But if I found it in the dark, I am 56 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:52.639 sure I should find some kind of an excuse for 57 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:56.080 not saying anything about it. For I do love moons. 58 00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:59.120 They are so pretty and so romantic. I wish I 59 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:01.759 had five or six. I would never go to bed. 60 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:04.240 I should never get tired of lying on the moss 61 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:07.599 bank and looking up at them. Stars are good too. 62 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:10.199 I wish I could get some to put in my hair, 63 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:14.240 but I suppose I never can. You'd be surprised to 64 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:16.759 find out how far off they are, for they do 65 00:03:16.840 --> 00:03:19.599 not look it. When they first showed last night, I 66 00:03:19.719 --> 00:03:21.879 tried to knock them down with a pole, but it 67 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:25.360 didn't reach, which astonished me. Then I tried clods till 68 00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:28.039 I was all tired out, but I never got one. 69 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:31.360 It was because I am left handed and cannot throw good. 70 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:33.680 Even when I aimed at the one, I wasn't after 71 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:36.560 I couldn't hit the other one, though I did make 72 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:39.080 some close shots, for I saw the black dot of 73 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.800 the clod sail right into the midst of the golden 74 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:46.439 clusters forty or fifty times, just barely missing them. And 75 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:49.240 if I could have held out a little longer, maybe 76 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:51.879 I could have got one. So I cried a little, 77 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:54.680 which was natural, I suppose, for one of my age. 78 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:57.879 And after I was rested, I got a basket and 79 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:00.400 started for a place on the extreme rim of the 80 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.400 circle where the stars were close to the ground and 81 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:05.520 I could get them with my hands, which would be 82 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:08.599 better anyway, because I could gather them tenderly then and 83 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:11.039 not break them. But it was further than I thought, 84 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:13.520 and at last I had to give it up. I 85 00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:16.240 was so tired I couldn't drag my feet another step, 86 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:19.959 and besides they were so sore and hurt me very much. 87 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:23.399 I couldn't get back home. It was too far and 88 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:26.759 turning cold. But I found some tigers and nestled in 89 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:31.040 among them, and was most adorably comfortable. And their breath 90 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:34.920 was sweet and pleasant because they lived on strawberries. I 91 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:37.560 had never seen a tiger before, but I knew them 92 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:40.319 in a minute by the stripes. If I could have 93 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:42.560 one of those skins, it would make a lovely gown. 94 00:04:43.079 --> 00:04:46.560 To day, I'm getting better ideas about distances. I was 95 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:48.959 so eager to get hold of every pretty thing that 96 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:52.120 I giddily grabbed for it, sometimes when it was too 97 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:55.639 far off, and sometimes when it was but six inches 98 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:59.839 away but seemed a foot alas with thorns in between. 99 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:04.079 I learned a lesson. Also, I made an axiom all 100 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:07.920 out of my own head, my very first one, the 101 00:05:08.040 --> 00:05:12.439 scratched experiment shuns the thorn. I think it's a very 102 00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:15.720 good one for one so young. I followed the other 103 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:19.879 experiment around yesterday afternoon at a distance to see what 104 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:23.040 it might be for if I could, but I was 105 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:25.920 not able to make out. I think it is a man. 106 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:29.199 I had never seen a man, but it looked like one, 107 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:31.959 and I feel sure that that is what it is. 108 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:35.800 I realize that I feel more curiosity about it than 109 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:39.079 about any of the other reptiles. If it is a reptile, 110 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:42.199 and I suppose it is, for it has frowsy hair 111 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.800 and blue eyes and looks like a reptile. It is 112 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:48.920 no hips. It tapers like a carrot. When it stands, 113 00:05:49.399 --> 00:05:52.720 it spreads itself apart like a derrick. So I think 114 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:56.399 it is a reptile, though it may be architecture. I 115 00:05:56.519 --> 00:05:58.759 was afraid of it at first, and started to run 116 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:01.160 every time it turned round, for I thought it was 117 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:04.199 going to chase me. But by and by I found 118 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:06.759 it was only trying to get away. So after that 119 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:09.360 I was not timid any more, but tracked it along 120 00:06:09.560 --> 00:06:13.120 several hours, about twenty yards behind, which made it very 121 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:16.240 nervous and unhappy. At last, it was a good deal. 122 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:19.240 Worried and climbed a tree. I waited a good while, 123 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:22.199 then gave it up and went home to day. The 124 00:06:22.279 --> 00:06:24.680 same thing over. I've got it up the tree again. 125 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:29.399 Sunday it is up there yet, resting apparently, But that 126 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:33.160 is a subterfuge. Sunday isn't the day of rest. Saturday 127 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:35.800 is appointed for that. It looks to me like a 128 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:38.920 creature that is more interested in resting than in anything else. 129 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.160 It would tire me to rest so much. It tires 130 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:44.759 me just to sit around and watch the tree. I 131 00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:47.439 do wonder what it is for. I never see it 132 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:50.639 do anything. They returned the moon last night, and I 133 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:53.720 was so happy. I think it was very honest of them. 134 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:56.959 It slid down and fell off again, but I was 135 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.800 not distressed. There is no need to worry when one 136 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:02.399 has that kind of neighbor's They will fetch it back. 137 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:05.839 I wish I could do something to show my appreciation. 138 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:08.720 I would like to send them some stars, for we 139 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:11.839 have more than we can use. I mean I not we, 140 00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:15.040 for I can see that the reptile cares nothing for 141 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:18.600 such things. It has low tastes and is not kind. 142 00:07:19.399 --> 00:07:21.680 When I went there yesterday evening in the gloaming, it 143 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:24.120 had crept down and was trying to catch the little 144 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:27.040 speckled fishes that play in the pool, and I had 145 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:28.759 to clawed it to make it go up the tree 146 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:31.600 again and let them alone. I wonder if that is 147 00:07:31.639 --> 00:07:35.240 what it is for. Hasn't it any heart? Hasn't it 148 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:39.040 any compassion for those little creatures? Can it be that 149 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:43.040 it was designed and manufactured for such ungentle work. It 150 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:45.319 has the look of it. One of the clods took 151 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:48.040 it back of the ear and it used language. It 152 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:50.879 gave me a thrill, for it was the first time 153 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:53.560 I had ever heard speech except my own. I did 154 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:57.120 not understand the words, but they seemed expressive. When I 155 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:59.639 found that it could talk, I felt a new interest 156 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:02.560 in it, for I love to talk. I talk all 157 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:06.079 day and in my sleep too, and I am very interesting. 158 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:08.839 But if I had another to talk to, I could 159 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:12.519 be twice as interesting and would never stop if desired. 160 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:16.800 If this reptile is a man, it isn't an it 161 00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:20.680 is it? That wouldn't be grammatical, would it? I think 162 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:24.360 it would be he? I think so. In that case, 163 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:30.879 one would parse it thus nominative he, dative him, possessive 164 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:35.360 his'n Well, I will consider it a man and call 165 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:38.759 it he until it turns out to be something else. 166 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:42.879 This will be handier than having so many uncertainties. Next 167 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:47.039 week Sunday. All the week I tagged around after him 168 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:49.960 and tried to get acquainted. I had to do the 169 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:52.919 talking because he was shy, but I didn't mind it. 170 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:56.360 He seemed pleased to have me around, and I use 171 00:08:56.399 --> 00:09:00.240 a sociable we a good deal because it seemed to 172 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:04.639 flatter him to be included. Wednesday, we are getting along 173 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:07.840 very well indeed now and getting better and better acquainted. 174 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:10.840 He does not try to avoid me any more, which 175 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:13.559 is a good sign and shows that he likes to 176 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:16.960 have me with him. That pleases me, and I study 177 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.080 to be useful to him in every way I can 178 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:23.080 so as to increase his regard. During the last day 179 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:25.720 or two, I have taken all the work of naming 180 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:28.360 things off his hands, and this has been a great 181 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:31.240 relief to him, for he has no gift in that line, 182 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:34.440 and is evidently very grateful. He can't think of a 183 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:37.360 rational name to save him. But I do not let 184 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.360 him see that I am aware of his defect. Whenever 185 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:42.639 a new creature comes along, I name it before he 186 00:09:42.679 --> 00:09:46.279 has time to expose himself by an awkward silence. In 187 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:49.320 this way I have saved him many embarrassments. I have 188 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:51.919 no defect like this. The minute I set eyes on 189 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:54.679 an animal, I know what it is. I don't have 190 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:58.039 to reflect a moment. The right name comes out instantly, 191 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:01.240 just as if it were an inspira, as no doubt 192 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:03.240 it is, for I am sure it wasn't in me 193 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:06.840 half a minute before. I seem to know, just by 194 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:09.159 the shape of the creature and the way it acts, 195 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:12.279 what animal it is. When the dodo came along, he 196 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:15.080 thought it was a wild cat. I saw it in 197 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:18.159 his eye, but I saved him, and I was careful 198 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:19.879 not to do it in a way that could hurt 199 00:10:19.879 --> 00:10:23.279 his pride. I just spoke up in a quiet, natural 200 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:26.159 way of pleasing surprise and not as if I was 201 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:29.960 dreaming of conveying information, and said, well, if I do, 202 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:34.600 declare if there isn't the dodo, I explained, without seeming 203 00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:37.039 to be explaining, how I knew it for a dodo. 204 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.240 And although I thought maybe he was a little piqued 205 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:42.759 that I knew the creature when he didn't, it was 206 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:46.000 quite evident that he admired me. That was very agreeable, 207 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:49.039 and I thought of it more than once with gratification 208 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:52.320 before I slept. How little a thing can make us 209 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:55.399 happy when we feel that we have earned it. Thursday 210 00:10:56.519 --> 00:11:00.200 my first sorrow. Yesterday he avoided me and seemed to 211 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:02.600 wish I would not talk to him. I could not 212 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:04.919 believe it, and thought there was some mistake, for I 213 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:06.960 loved to be with him and love to him talk. 214 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:09.440 So how could it be that he could feel unkind 215 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:12.600 toward me when I had not done anything? But at 216 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:15.840 last it seemed true. So I went away and sat 217 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:18.279 lonely in the place where I first saw him the 218 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:20.720 morning that we were made. And I did not know 219 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:24.080 what he was and was indifferent about him. But now 220 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:27.120 it was a mournful place, and every little thing spoke 221 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:30.559 of him, and my heart was very sore. I did 222 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:33.960 not know why, very clearly, for it was a new feeling. 223 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:37.399 I had not experienced it before, and it was all 224 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:40.279 a mystery, and I could not make it out. But 225 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:43.440 when night came, I could not bear the lonesomeness and 226 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.799 went to the new shelter which he has built, to 227 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:48.039 ask him what I had done that was wrong, and 228 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:50.840 how could I mend it and get back his kindness again? 229 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:53.360 But he put me out in the rain, and it 230 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:58.960 was my first sorrow. End of part one, Part two. 231 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:04.440 It is pleasant again now and I am happy. But 232 00:12:04.519 --> 00:12:07.000 those were heavy days. I do not think of them 233 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:09.919 when I can help it. I tried to get him 234 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:12.879 some of those apples, but I cannot learn to throw straight. 235 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:16.240 I failed, but I think the good intention pleased him. 236 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:19.679 They are forbidden, and he says, I shall come to harm. 237 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:22.960 But so I come to harm through pleasing him. Why 238 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:27.039 shall I care for that harm? Monday? This morning I 239 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:30.120 told him my name, hoping it would interest him, But 240 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:33.240 he did not care for it. It is strange. If 241 00:12:33.240 --> 00:12:35.840 he should tell me his name, I would care. I 242 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:38.360 think it would be pleasanter in my ears than any 243 00:12:38.440 --> 00:12:43.000 other sound. He talks very little. Perhaps it is because 244 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:45.919 he is not bright and is very sensitive about it 245 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:49.120 and wishes to conceal it. It is such a pity 246 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:52.720 that he should feel so, for brightness is nothing. It 247 00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:55.840 is in the heart that the value lies. I wish 248 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:58.440 I could make him understand that a loving, good heart 249 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:02.799 is riches and riches, and that without it, intellect is poverty. 250 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:07.320 Although he talks a little, he has quite a considerable vocabulary. 251 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:11.559 This morning he used a surprisingly good word. He evidently 252 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:14.360 recognized himself that it was a good one, for he 253 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:19.279 worked it in twice afterward, casually. It was good, casual art. Still, 254 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:22.799 it showed that he possesses a certain quality of perception, 255 00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:26.240 without a doubt, that seed can be made to grow 256 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:30.039 if cultivated. Where did he get that word? I do 257 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:33.440 not think I have ever used it. No, he took 258 00:13:33.480 --> 00:13:36.679 no interest in my name. I tried to hide my disappointment, 259 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:40.440 but I suppose I did not succeed. I went away 260 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:42.879 and sat on the moss bank with my feet in 261 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:45.519 the water. It is where I go when I hunger 262 00:13:45.559 --> 00:13:49.279 for companionship, someone to look at, someone to talk to. 263 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.600 It is not enough that lovely white body painted there 264 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.879 in the pool. But it is something, and something is 265 00:13:56.919 --> 00:14:00.440 better than utter loneliness. It talks when I talk. It 266 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:03.480 is sad. When I am sad. It comforts me with 267 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:07.600 its sympathy. It says, do not be downhearted, you poor 268 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:11.120 friendless girl. I will be your friend. It is a 269 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:13.879 good friend to me, and my only one. It is 270 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:17.840 my sister. That first time that she forsook me. Ah, 271 00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:21.759 I shall never forget that, never never. My heart was 272 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:25.679 lead in my body. I said she was all I had, 273 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:29.159 and now she is gone. In my despair, I said, 274 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:32.360 break my heart. I cannot bear my life any more, 275 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:35.440 and hid my face in my hands, and there was 276 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:38.279 no solace for me. And when I took them away 277 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:41.240 after a little while, there she was again white and 278 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:45.960 shining and beautiful, and I sprang into her arms. That 279 00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:50.200 was perfect happiness. I had known happiness before, but it 280 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:53.639 was not like this, which was ecstasy. I never doubted 281 00:14:53.639 --> 00:14:58.000 her afterward. Sometimes she stayed away, maybe an hour, maybe 282 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:01.519 almost the whole day. But I waited and did not doubt. 283 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:04.639 I said, she is busy, or she has gone on 284 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:07.480 a journey. But she will come. And it was so 285 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:10.399 she always did. At night. She would not come if 286 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:12.679 it were dark, for she was a timid little thing. 287 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:15.480 But if there was a moon, she would come. I 288 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:17.799 am not afraid of the dark. But she is younger 289 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:21.159 than I am. She was born after I was many, 290 00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:23.600 and many are the visits I have paid her. She 291 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:26.919 is my comfort and my refuge when my life is hard, 292 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:31.960 and it is mainly that Tuesday. All the morning I 293 00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:35.039 was at work in proving the estate, and I purposely 294 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:37.360 kept away from him, in the hope that he would 295 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:41.320 get lonely and come. But he did not. At noon, 296 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:43.840 I stopped for the day and took my recreation by 297 00:15:43.879 --> 00:15:47.000 flitting all about with the bees and the butterflies, and 298 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.159 reveling in the flowers, those beautiful creatures that catch the 299 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:52.960 smile of God out of the sky and preserve it. 300 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:56.559 I gathered them and made them into wreaths and garland, 301 00:15:56.720 --> 00:16:00.320 and closed myself in them while I ate my luncheon auples. 302 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:03.159 Of course, then I sat in the shade and wished 303 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:07.279 and waited, but he did not come. But no matter, 304 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:09.720 nothing would have come of it, for he does not 305 00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:13.440 care for flowers. He called them rubbish, and cannot tell 306 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:17.080 one from another, and thinks it's superior to feel like that. 307 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:19.679 He does not care for me. He does not care 308 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:22.320 for flowers. He does not care for the painted sky 309 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:26.279 at eventide. Is there anything he does care for except 310 00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:29.320 building shacks to coop himself up in from the good, 311 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:33.080 clean rain, and thumping the melons and sampling the grapes 312 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:35.720 and fingering the fruit on the trees to see how 313 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:39.279 those properties are coming along. I laid a dry stick 314 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:41.159 on the ground and tried to bore a hole in 315 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:43.559 it with another one in order to carry out a 316 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.440 scheme that I had, And soon I got an awful fright. 317 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:50.080 A thin, transparent, bluish film rose out of the hole, 318 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:53.080 and I dropped everything and ran. I thought it was 319 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:56.480 a spirit, and I was so frightened. But I looked 320 00:16:56.519 --> 00:16:59.279 back and it was not coming. So I leaned against 321 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:02.559 a rock and rested and panted and let my limbs 322 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:05.400 go on trembling until they got steady again. Then I 323 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:09.559 crept warily back, alert, watching and ready to fly if 324 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:12.559 there was occasion. And when I was come near, I 325 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:15.519 parted the branches of a rose bush and peeped through, 326 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:19.079 wishing the man was about. I was looking so cunning 327 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:22.319 and pretty, but the spirit was gone. I went there 328 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:25.079 and there was a pinch of delicate pink dust in 329 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:27.839 the hole. I put my finger in it to feel it, 330 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:31.519 and said ouch, and took it out again. It was 331 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:34.279 a cruel pain. I put my finger in my mouth, 332 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:36.720 and by standing first on one foot and then on 333 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:41.039 the other, and grunting, I presently eased my misery. Then 334 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:44.599 I was full of interest and began to examine. I 335 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:47.960 was curious to know what the pink dust was. Suddenly 336 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:50.279 the name of it occurred to me, though I had 337 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:53.480 never heard of it before. It was fire. I was 338 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:55.880 certain of it as a person could be of anything 339 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:59.720 in the world. So without hesitation, I named it that fire. 340 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:04.079 I had created something that didn't exist before. I had 341 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:07.720 added a new thing to the world's uncountable properties. I 342 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:11.240 realized this and was proud of my achievement. I was 343 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:13.640 going to run and find him and tell him about it, 344 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.799 thinking to raise myself in his esteem. But I reflected 345 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:20.839 and did not do it. No, he would not care 346 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:23.359 for it. He would ask what it was good for, 347 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:26.960 and what could I answer for? It was not good 348 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:31.400 for something, but only beautiful, merely beautiful. So I sighed 349 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:34.319 and did not go for it wasn't good for anything. 350 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:37.680 It could not build a shack, It could not improve melons, 351 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.079 It could not hurry a fruit crop. It was useless. 352 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:45.039 It was a foolishness and a vanity. He would despise 353 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:48.079 it and say cutting words, but to me it was 354 00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:52.960 not despicable. I said, oh, you fire, I love you, you 355 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:57.240 dainty pink creature, for you are beautiful and that is enough, 356 00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:01.799 and was going to gather it to my breast, but refrained. 357 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.279 Then I made another maxim out of my head, though 358 00:19:05.400 --> 00:19:07.480 it was so nearly like the first one that I 359 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:11.960 was afraid it was only a plagiarism. The burnt experiment 360 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:16.319 shunned the fire I wrought again, and when I had 361 00:19:16.359 --> 00:19:19.039 made a good deal of fire dust, I emptied it 362 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:22.440 into a handful of dry brown grass, intending to carry 363 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:24.960 it home and keep it always in play with it, 364 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:28.000 but the wind struck it, and it sprayed up and 365 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:30.839 spat out at me fiercely, and I dropped it and ran. 366 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:34.279 When I looked back, the blue spirit was towering up 367 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:37.720 and stretching and rolling away like a cloud. And instantly 368 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:41.039 I thought of the name of it, smoke, though upon 369 00:19:41.079 --> 00:19:43.960 my word, I had never heard of smoke before. Soon 370 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:46.799 brilliant yellow and red flare shot up through the smoke, 371 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:50.559 and I named them in an instant flames. And I 372 00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:53.720 was right too, though these were the very first flames 373 00:19:53.960 --> 00:19:56.960 that had ever been in the world. They climbed the trees, 374 00:19:57.200 --> 00:19:59.759 then flashed blendidly in and out of the fast and 375 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.160 increasing volume of tumbling smoke, and I had to clap 376 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:06.400 my hands and laugh and dance in my rapture. It 377 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:10.200 was so new and strange and so wonderful and so beautiful. 378 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.200 He came running and stopped and gazed and said not 379 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:18.559 a word for many minutes. Then he asked what it was. Ah, 380 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:20.640 it was too bad that he should ask such a 381 00:20:20.680 --> 00:20:23.839 direct question. I had to answer it, of course, and 382 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:27.160 I did. I said it was fire. If it annoyed 383 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:29.519 him that I should know, and he must ask that 384 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:32.480 was not my fault. I had no desire to annoy him. 385 00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:35.839 After a long pause, he asked, how did it come? 386 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:39.359 Another direct question, and it also had to have a 387 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:43.480 direct answer. I made it. The fire was traveling further 388 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:45.720 and further off. He went to the edge of the 389 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:48.759 burned place and stood looking down and said, what are 390 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:52.799 these fire coals? He picked up one to examine it, 391 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:55.359 but changed his mind and put it down again. Then 392 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:59.599 he went away. Nothing interests him, but I was interested. 393 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:03.680 They were ashes, gray and soft and delicate and pretty. 394 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:06.880 I knew what they were at once, and the embers. 395 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:09.880 I knew the embers too. I found my apples and 396 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:12.519 rake them out and was glad, for I am very 397 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:16.000 young and my appetite is active. But I was disappointed. 398 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:20.359 They were all burst open and spoiled. Spoiled apparently, but 399 00:21:20.440 --> 00:21:23.200 it was not so. They were better than wraw ones. 400 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:26.279 Fire is beautiful. Some day it will be useful, I 401 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:32.119